Differential gear



Dec. 21, 1937. L. 5. BROWN 2,103,143

DIFFERENTIAL GEAR Filed Sept. 21, 1955 i lc? i I z t 5 Z1 '7 lllllllllllllll i //Il H -g l5 Zaaerzze S firazvn,

INVENTOR O BY W WITNESS ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 21, 1937 1' 2,103,143

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE r 2,103,143 1 DIFFERENTIAL GEAR Laverne S. Brown, Gaines, Pa.

Application September 21, 1936, Serial No. 101,874

,2 Claims. (01. 74-315) This invention relates to differential gears and gear 8 meshes with the gear '4 carried by the has for an object to provide a differential gear ring gear and is loose on the countershaft. For which will allow one wheel of the motor vehicle clutching the gear 8 to the countershaft a conto spin only a certainlength of its circumference ventional clutch collar I2 is splined on the shaft 5 before it will apply power to the other wheel so so that its toothed face may be engaged with the that a motor vehicle may have one drive wheel similar toothed face of the gear 8;

out of traction contact with the roadway and A countershaft gear 9 meshes with the gear still be capable of forward movement. 6 of the axle l9 and is connected to the counter- A further object is to provide a differential shaft through the medium of a built-in over- 10 gear of this type which is substantially simpler running clutch l0. s 10 than similar differential gears and is construct- The differential gear assembly is enclosed in a ed of less parts than is customary, this being achousing 2| having bearings 22 for the ends of complished by the provision of built-in overrunthe countershaft.

ning clutches instead of friction clutches for In operation, should the drive wheel on the connecting the countershaft gears to the counaxle l8 spin, the gear 6 will cause the gear 9 on 15 tershaft. the countershaft to be so reduced in speed as to A further object is to provide a differential permit the countershaft to engage, by means of gear of this type in which the countershaft drive the over-running clutch III, the gear 9. Power gear is clutched to the countershaft so as to is then delivered to the axle l9 through the folpermitit to be manually declutched from the lowing parts, gear 4, gear 8, countershaft I3, 20

countershaft to permit the gear assembly to be over-running clutch l0, gear 9, and gear 6, to

reversed in direction of rotation, the axle l9 which is the stalled drive member A further object is to provide a differential requiring power. gear of this type which will be formed of a few Gear 1 will not be receiving power because strong simple and durable parts, which will be spinning of the axle l8 and gear 5 will cause the 25 inexpensive to manufacture, and which will not gear I to be revolved faster than the countereasily get out of order. shaft and thus the over-running clutch mecha- With the above and other objects in view the nism ll cannot clutch the gear to the counterinvention consists of certain novel details of shaft. This is true because of the difference in construction and combinations of parts hereingearing ratio between the gears 4 and 8, 5 and after fully described and claimed, it being under- 1, andfi and 9. stood that various modifications may be resorted When the vehicle is in forward motion the a to within the scope of the appended claims withgears l and 9 will be at all times revolving faster out departing from the spirit or sacrificing any than the countershaft. The reason for this is of the advantages of the invention. to permit one or the other of the axles and drive 35 In the accompanying drawing forming part of wheels to revolve freely a certain distance of its this specification, circumference more than its companion wheel Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of a difierin order to negotiate turns in the roadway. ential gear constructed in accordance with the The countershaft will always increase its 40 invention. speed in relation to the gearing on the side of 40 Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken the slower revolving axle to such an extentas on the line 22 of Figure 1. to equal that of the gears 1 or 9 as the casemay V Referring now to the drawing in which like be,so that both drive wheels must deliver power. characters of reference designate similar parts Although one drive wheel may revolve faster in the various views, I designates a ring gear than the other it cannot revolve faster than the 45 which is driven by a ring gear pinion Z on the predetermined difference in gear ratio of the propeller shaft 20 and drives a conventional difdifferential 3. v 1 ferential assembly 3. A gear 4 is formed inte- When the differential gear is to be reversed gral with the ring gear. A gear 5 is splined to indirection of rotation the gear 8 must be dethe right axle l8 and a gear 6 is splined to the clutched from the countershaft l3. This is not 5 left axle l9. a detrimental to the effective operation of the de- A countershaft gear 1 is connected to a counvice but on the contrary is very important betershaft l3 through the medium of a built-in cause when a vehicle is stalled on an incline, over-running clutch H. The gear I meshes with for example, the gear 8 will lock the transmisthe gear 5 of the axle l8. The countershaft drive sion so that the vehicle cannot drift backwards. 55 1 From the above description it is thought that and. a gear on the countershaft meshing with 3 the gear carried by the ring gear.

2. The combination with a differential gear and a pair of aligned axles driven thereby, of gears on the axles on opposite sides of the difierential, a gear integral with the ring gear, a countershaft, countershaft gears meshing with the gears on the axles, over-running clutches connecting the countershaft gears with the countershaft, a gear loose on the'countershaft and meshing with the gear carried by the ring gear, and a shiftable clutch device connecting 10 the last named. gear with the counter-shaft.

LAVERNE s. BROWN. 

